My business partner is taking all the credit - here's what to do.

dollhouse: coffee shop

Fun fact: Early English coffeehouses were nicknamed “penny universities” because for the price of a penny, people could access conversation, news, and lively intellectual debate.

The issue: 

Your business partner, Cressida, is taking the credit for your work. In other words, you feel like you're being taken advantage of.

Let's say you and Cressida own a coffee shop together.

An example: 

Let's say you and your business-partner, Cressida, own a coffee shop together.

You've been working on your new menu, with most of the new and creative ideas coming from you.

When your customers come into your shop, they express delight at your new menu. Cressida gives them context by sharing her brainstorming process and how these ideas came to her.

Two hidden costs:

1. Opportunities may get rerouted from you over to her.

2. You lose control of how your work is interpreted and valued, as the story of your work is narrated by someone else.
   

The reasons:

Here are the reasons why Cressida is taking the credit for your work (and/or):

• She's not clear on how the draw the line between your work and hers.
• She views your work and business as a "we" effort, especially to the public.
• She has a desire for recognition.
• She genuinely believes that she contributed.

Your quick fix (honoring autonomy): 

Your goal is to ensure that you can both agree on the line between "you" and "them."

Unless you're both clear on how much individuality you have within your team, it can be easy to blur the boundaries between what's shared and what's individual.

• Can you both agree on who gets credit for what?

• Are you both willing to be honest to others about it?

If YES, you can make compromises.

If NO, you have a fundamental incompatibility -  is that you have different ways of claiming ownership and defining identity.

Mending your partnership:

Book a consultation with Valerie.

Vetting for the future:

If you are searching for a business partner in the future, first figure out how they claim ownership and handle recognition. It can be a red flag if their desire for recognition doesn’t match yours.

This ensures that you’ll both respect each other’s work.

© Doll & Dollhouse

All rights reserved. This content is protected by copyright law and may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, displayed, or otherwise used without the prior written permission of the Doll & Dollhouse